One of the prides of the Japanese national team at the 5th World Baseball Classic (WBC), which will be held in March, is the luxurious outfield team composed of major leaguers. The Japanese national team named only four outfielders among the 30 members of the national team, and included three major leaguers: Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), Masataka Yoshida (Boston), and Lars Nuthba (St. Louis). Kensuke Kondo (Softbank) is the only professional outfielder who plays in Nippon Professional Baseball.

Japan national team coach Hideki Kuriyama had a problem at this point. This is because Japan entered the first round of the tournament, starting with the match against China held at the Tokyo Dome on the 9th, and there was room for it to be difficult to operate the outfield at the beginning of the tournament.

According to the Japanese sports newspaper ‘Sports Hochi’ on the 18th, Japanese national team coach Kuriyama Hiteki once again hoped that major league players would join the national team early on the 17th.

The Japanese national team will begin field training at the Miyazaki Camp on February 17th, and will raise the senses of the entire team through actual training. However, in the case of the WBC in 2017, major league players can only participate in the evaluation match against the Hanshin Tigers on March 6th and the Orix Buffaloes on the 7th, three days before the opening of the first round. There is not enough time to get in touch with the players ahead of the competition, as well as to check the sense of the game. 메이저놀이터

If the schedule of the previous tournament is followed, Japan may not be able to use all of its best outfield staff in the match against Korea on the 10th, which is considered the biggest match in the first round. This is why director Kuriyama is keenly aware. Coach Kuriyama said, “If joining is delayed, it will be difficult to use those players in the early stages of the tournament. If you suddenly increase your pace, there is a risk of injury.”

In games where Japan cannot utilize the outfield in the major leagues, it should use Shuto Ukyo (Softbank), an infield multi-manager, along with Kondo. However, in this case, the power of the entire lineup is inevitably reduced. The composition of the outfield is also a concern for the practice game that will begin on February 25 ahead of the official evaluation match in March. This is because it is difficult to fill the three outfielders required for the game, and it may be necessary to temporarily appoint players in other positions.